


Pink Peonies

by akimikono



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Gen, Hatake Kakashi is a Troll, I've never written a reader-insert fic before so please bear with me, Kakashi is secretly a romantic, Kakashi is sneaky, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Reader hasn't shown up yet bc I'm figuring this out, Reader shows up in chapter 2, Reader-Insert, will tag characters as I go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-21 04:10:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11936028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akimikono/pseuds/akimikono
Summary: Ino is suspicious when Kakashi buys flowers from her shop, so she enlists the help of Sakura to find out who they're for. Kakashi, meanwhile, is just trying to have a nice date.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for giving this fic a chance! I haven't written a 2nd person/reader-insert story before so this is new territory for me! Reader hasn't shown up yet because I had to set up the reason for Ino and Sakura to be spying on them. Comment below if you'd like me to continue this, or if you have suggestions about where it should go!

Ino lounged behind the counter of her family’s flower shop, twirling a broken flower stem around her index finger. It had been dropped and crushed underfoot by a toddler who pulled out half a dozen daffodils from their container and left them strewn across the aisle while his mother did nothing. When they left, the mom muttered how it was “the shop’s girl job to clean up” and toted her child out into the late summer evening; she didn’t even bother to buy anything, which was the really annoying part.

The young kunoichi had managed to salvage most of the flowers, but three of them had their petals ripped off, and a fourth had been broken near the top, making it impossible to sell. She ran her fingernails down the now-flattened stem and green plant matter coated her fingertips. It’d been an unbearably long and boring day and she’d only sold a handful of flowers since the shop opened.

Bells chimed as the door was pushed open and she stood up eagerly, looking past the rows of black containers and earthy-smelling flowers to see who the customer was. By the time she’d looked up, they had already disappeared down an aisle and the door swung shut by itself.

 _Huh, they move fast. I wonder who it is?_ Ino dropped the stem on the floor and wiped her hands off on her apron, though it did little to remove the green stain from her fingers. She watched carefully as soft footsteps wandered up and down the aisle before stopping. There were several minutes of silence and then she heard the shuffling of leaves and the dripping of water on the concrete floor.

 _Well whoever they are, they must’ve found something they like!_ Ino stood up straight and folded her hands together, waiting for the customer to come to the front. She watched in anticipation as the footsteps picked up again, coming closer. Her shoulders dropped and a puzzled look crossed her face when she saw who it was casually striding around the corner and towards the till.

“Kakashi-sensei?” she asked, her voice rising in surprise. “What are you doing here? I mean - who are the flowers for?”

“Oh, Ino,” the man replied, looking a bit surprised himself. “I didn’t know you were working today. I thought it’d be your mother.” He said nothing about why he was there, but instead set the flowers - six soft pink peonies - on the counter and glanced over his shoulder. “It’s very quiet today.”

“Yeah,” Ino replied, irritated with the lack of customers, “you’ve been pretty much my only customer. Do you want these wrapped?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, please. Thank you.”

The girl grabbed a piece of brown paper from under the counter and laid it flat on the counter, gently arranging the peonies in the center. “So …” she drawled out, throwing a cautionary glance at the teacher who was staring at the flowers. “What do you have planned tonight? Anything fun? I heard there’s a new restaurant opening tonight.”

“Hm. Maybe.”

Ino tied the ribbon a little bit too tightly and felt her eye twitch. Why was it so hard to get an answer out of this man? “I’m sure you must be doing something pretty nice if you need to get such lovely flowers!”

“They are pretty,” he commented, only half-listening.

Ino cleared her throat and Kakashi snapped to, digging through his pockets to find his wallet and handed over a few wrinkled bills. She held the flowers in her arms, subtly holding them hostage until she got the answers she wanted. Deciding that being more direct was a better approach, she gave a sweet smile to the older man and said, “So, who are these for?”

“Oh, aha, they’re for nobody,” Kakashi replied, his hand going up to rub the back of his neck. “Tell your parents I said ‘hi’, okay?”

Before she could even protest, Kakashi had snatched the bouquet out of her hands and was out of the store. Ino gritted her teeth and growled, “Oooh, I’m going to find out one way or another! Nobody buys flowers from _my_ shop and doesn’t tell me what they’re for!”

Unfortunately, there was no way for Ino to leave her post at the counter - even if there were no other customers in the shop. She couldn’t even get permission to close early since both her parents had stepped out for an early dinner and wouldn’t be back until later. So she’d just have to wait.

But as luck would have it, not ten minutes later, Sakura passed by the front of the shop. Ino hightailed it to the front door, flung it open and shouted, “BILLBOARD BROW!”

The pink-haired girl spun on her heels, fist raised, eyes filled with fire. “What do you want Ino-Pig?!”

“Come here!” Ino hissed, waving her over frantically.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Sakura quickly joined Ino and huddled just inside the flower shop. Ino glanced around to make sure no one was listening in and pulled Sakura away from the door.

“Kakashi-sensei was just here!”

“What? What was he doing _here_?”

“Don’t say it like that! Our shop has awesome flowers! Anyway - that’s just it! He was _buying flowers_! Peonies! Pink ones!”

“Well, maybe he needed them for something? Or maybe someone asked him to pick them up?”

“No way!” Ino huffed, crossing her arms. “You weren’t there. I saw the look in his eye! He was buying them for someone! I think —” She paused to lower her voice and leaned in, “I think he’s going on a date.”

“ _What?!_ ” Sakura sputtered, her eyes wide. “There’s no way sensei is going on a date! I’ve never seen him talk to anyone - and, and, well _we_ would know, wouldn’t we? Naruto, Sasuke and I are his students and we’re around him all the time!”

“Well _I’m_ not his student, and even _I_ know how hard it is to get an answer out of him. He wouldn’t say anything! But if he’s going on a date, then I want to know with who.”

“Why do _you_ care so much? He’s not your teacher.”

“Because,” Ino barked, her hands balled into fists, “he came into _my_ shop and bought _my_ flowers! Nobody gets to do that and refuse to tell me what they’re for! I could care less if Kakashi-sensei is dating somebody! I just gotta know _who the flowers are for!_ ”

“Well, then, what do you suppose we do?” Sakura frowned. “Do you know how hard it is to tail Kakashi-sensei? Or to figure out what he’s doing? We’ve tried before and we’ve failed - miserably. He’ll know we’re onto him the moment we start. In fact, he probably already suspects that we’re gonna try to see what he’s doing!”

“I don’t care,” Ino said defiantly. “I’m doing this, with or without you.”

Sakura sighed heavily and looked back towards the front windows. The evening sun glinted off of them, sending a rainbow of colors onto the floor. The smell of water and flowers mingled in the hot air and fertilizer crunched under her sandals. It had been a rather dreary weekend, and this _could_ hone her skills as a ninja. Besides, she too was curious as to why Kakashi was buying flowers. And if they were for someone, she definitely wanted to know who.

“Fine,” she said, turning to face Ino. “I’ll help you. But on one condition!”

“What’s that?”

“If we find out who Kakashi-sensei is taking those flowers to, you have to give me a free dozen daffodils to give to Sasuke!”

Ino felt a headache forming above her right eye and she grumbled, “What’s with this shop and losing daffodils? Ugh! Fine! You have a deal!” Ino stuck out her hand and Sakura took it, shaking it firmly. Then the two hurried off to see if they could catch up to Kakashi before his date was over.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi is a lot more observant than he seems; Sakura and Ino are a lot more determined than they seem; you're a lot more patient than you'd like to be - but, hey, somebody's bound to butt in when you're on a date with the Copy Ninja. Luckily, Kakashi has a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I intended to make this a 2-3 part story, but I ended up writing such a long ending that I split it up into 5 parts! But I'm so happy it's done, and that I've actually finished something that wasn't a one-shot! I hope you guys enjoy!

You stood outside of the dango shop, arms crossed, watching the crowd of people pass by lazily in the summer heat. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky in an array of vibrant oranges and deep reds. The sweet smell of rice flour, red bean paste, and green tea surrounded you and your stomach growled loudly. You had half a mind to sneak inside and grab a skewer while you waited. You knew Kakashi had a reputation of being late, but you hadn’t thought he’d be _this_ late, especially since _he_ was the one who set the time!  
  
Five more minutes. You’d give him five more minutes …  
  
Your stomach growled even louder this time, drawing the attention of a couple passing by in front of you, and your face burned hot with embarrassment. That was it. You made one last glance around the street before ducking into the shop and sitting at one of the tables. You were going to make yourself comfortable while you waited, since you’d been standing outside for about twenty minutes already. It was a little bit strange to be going on a date with the renowned Leaf Village ninja, but you couldn’t help but feel excited. You’d known the man for about a year and a half now and had apparently impressed him enough - or worn him down enough - that he invited you out for dinner, which surprised you quite a bit. You had only really seen him inside the Hokage office while dropping off reports, or occasionally passed by on the streets. You knew he was the teacher for a genin team, but you had never managed to meet any of his students. But somewhere between handing in reports, accidentally tripping over your own two feet and running headfirst into his back, and once being the judge for a competition between him and Gai, another teacher, he must’ve decided you were worth the time and effort to go on a date.  
  
Of course, he never _said_ it was a date, but the fact that he asked you out for dinner to a new restaurant seemed pretty date-ish to you. However, you weren’t going to get your hopes up too much, just in case … Kakashi was hard to read and often his own strangely charming personality came across as flirtatious. But, there was one good thing that could come out of your non-date, whether Kakashi was late or not. You’d finally get to see it - one of the most well-kept secrets in all of Konoha: Hatake Kakashi’s face. Not that was an ulterior motive of yours; it was just a possible perk!  
  
“Don’t look now,” came Kakashi’s calm voice behind you, “but we’re being followed.”  
  
Nearly jumping out of your skin, you turned to look over your shoulder. “Huh?”  
  
Kakashi sighed heavily. “I said _don’t_ look.” He stood outside of the dango shop, leaning against the wall where you’d been waiting only moments before.  
  
“Who’s following us? How - How do they even know about us?” You didn’t mean for it to sound so relationship-y, but Kakashi didn’t seem to notice.  
  
“Just a few genin. I have an idea of who it is, and I think I know why they’re following me. You should use a transformation jutsu while you’re in there, and we’ll go separate ways.”  
  
“ _Huh?_ That doesn’t sound like dinner to me! It sounds like a whole lot of work. Are you just trying to lose me?”  
  
“No, of course not. But I didn’t think you’d want our first date to be marred by some curious 12 year-olds.”  
  
Your heart involuntarily skipped a beat and your face warmed. _Did he just say ‘date’!?_  
  
“Uh - oh, right, right. Sure thing.” You stood up, trying to think of who to to transform into. You had no idea what Kakashi was planning, but you figured any transformation should do. You settled on one of the civilians you had seen pass by the dango shop earlier while you waited; it was inconspicuous enough, and certainly not a face that would draw a lot of attention. Quickly forming the handsigns, you were engulfed in a cloud of smoke and emerged as a rather plain-looking civilian. Dressed in a pale green yukata and bamboo sandals with your hair hanging down around your ears to frame your face, you stepped outside of the dango shop and looked to Kakashi.  
  
“What’s your plan?” you asked, looking the opposite direction so it didn’t appear as if you two were associating.  
  
“I don’t know. I figured I’d run ‘em around town a little bit. See if I can wear them out before we go out to dinner.”  
  
“Ugh. If I knew this would involve _work_ , I would’ve —”  
  
“Would’ve what? Canceled? That’s harsh.”  
  
You turned to protest but Kakashi’s one visible eye was closed and you could tell he was teasing you. Huffing, you crossed your arms and surveyed the street. “Actually, I was going to say that I would’ve eaten first. And I was about to when you showed up. Anyway … what do these genin look like?”  
  
“About yea tall,” Kakashi said, hovering his hand just above his waist. “It’s two girls - Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura. The latter is my student. The former is her, er - well, her rival, I guess you’d say.”  
  
“What are they doing, both stalking us?”  
  
“I’m assuming trying to figure out who _these_ are for.”  
  
You turned and finally noticed the bouquet of soft pink flowers Kakashi held in his arms. Your stomach flipped and you couldn’t help but smile wide. “Are - Are those for me?”  
  
“Huh? Oh - good idea. Here, you take half and I’ll take half.”  
  
“What?”  
  
Kakashi unwrapped the flowers, handed three of them to you and discarded the brown paper in a nearby bin. “Okay, so here’s what we’re going to do.”

* * *

Sakura and Ino hurried down the crowded street, frantically looking into the open doors of every building and scanning the crowds, trying to find Kakashi. 

“Is he always this hard to find?” Ino asked as she stopped in the middle of the street, a few beads of sweat already forming along her temple. “At this rate, we’ll never figure out who those flowers are for! Ugh. Just great.” She turned on Sakura and jabbed her index finger at her. “He’s your teacher - so where would he go?”  
  
“Don’t you get it?” Sakura barked, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. “I already told you that Sasuke, Naruto and I have _tried_ to tail him before. It’s really hard! But we’ve just got to try harder. Can’t you use your mind transfer jutsu or something to find him?”  
  
“You obviously don’t understand how that jutsu works. Of course you don’t - you’re not skilled enough to use it! I have to have a clear target and they can’t be moving. So - no, I can’t use it.”  
  
“Well what good is it then?”  
  
“Hey, don’t insult my jutsu! What can you do? Last I checked, you were pretty awful at any ninjutsu and you’re too weak for taijutsu!”  
  
Sakura balled her hands into tight fists and her face turned bright red with rage. “You have no right to say that! I’ve come so far from where I used to be! And I’m getting stronger every day! I actually _train_ , you know! And I have great teammates to train with! All you’ve got is a shirker and someone who spends his whole day eating!”  
  
“You can’t talk bad about my teammates like that! Only I can! Shikamaru and Choji are awesome - you only think you’re so good because you’ve got Sasuke on your team - which was _only_ because they try to even out the skills on the team. You got paired with such a great guy because you have _Naruto, the knuckleheaded ninja_!”  
  
“If I can’t talk bad about your teammates then you can’t talk bad about mine!”  
  
“Hey - what are you two fighting about now?”  
  
Sakura and Ino whipped around to see Kiba strolling down the street, Akamaru plopped on top of his head. He picked up a piece of takoyaki from the paper bowl he held and raised it above his head. Akamaru grabbed it and eagerly chewed on it, spraying bits of dough and slobber across Kiba’s hoodie, and barked in appreciation.  
  
“Is it about Sasuke?” Kiba asked, his face contorting from concern to resignation. “Figures. You two only fight about Sasuke. What’s so great about him?”  
  
“Actually, we were —” Sakura stopped herself when she realized she couldn’t just go around telling everybody about her and Ino’s mission. She threw a glance to the blonde next to her, gave a subtle nod, and said, “We weren’t fighting. We were … debating! About where to eat. We heard there’s a new restaurant in town and we wanted to check it out.”  
  
“But we couldn’t remember where it was,” Ino added.  
  
Kiba turned slowly to stare at the large banners lining the street, decorated with vibrant kanji that said, _GRAND OPENING! Botan Restaurant - THIS WAY!_ A fat arrow pointed in the way of the restaurant.  
  
“Can’t find it, huh?” he asked, shifting his gaze back to the girls.  
  
They both laughed nervously and threw their hands to their faces.  
  
“Oh - well, would you look at that?” Sakura said quickly, “It was right there in front of us! Jeez, no wonder Kakashi-sensei tells us we need to work on our observation skills! Aha ha ha ha!”  
  
“Yeah, if it was an enemy it would’ve struck us!” Ino forced a giggle, although she was mentally screaming. Now she looked like a fool with absolute zero ninja skills. “Thanks, Kiba!”  
  
“Uh huh … Come on, Akamaru. Let’s go get some dumplings before they close.” The young ninja started off down the street, easily merging with another group of villagers.  
  
“Great, now what do we do?” Ino huffed, turning to look at Sakura. “If we got the attention of Kiba, then we’ve probably scared off Kakashi-sensei, right? He’s probably not even on this street anymore.”  
  
“You’re right,” Sakura sighed, looking forlornly at the villagers. “We’ll never find him like this. Wait!” She grabbed Ino by the shoulders and shook her. “I know what we can do! We can get Akamaru to sniff out Kakashi-sensei! We’ll be sure to find him that way!”  
  
“Okay, but why would Kiba just let us use Akamaru? He’ll want to know what we’re doing.”  
  
“Just tell him we’re looking for something you lost - like a ring or something!”  
  
“ _Okay, but Akamaru will have to know he’s sniffing out your teacher_!” Ino growled, prying Sakura’s hands off of her. “Either we let Kiba know or we don’t do it at all. He won’t part with Akamaru - and that dumb dog won’t listen to _us_.”  
  
“Okay … We’ll just make sure Kiba doesn’t tell anyone. Or!” Sakura’s eyes widened and a large grin spread across her ruddy face. “We’ll have Akamaru sniff out the peonies! He can do that, right?”  
  
“Why would I know?” Ino looked back through the crowds to see Akamaru bouncing above the sea of heads. “I guess that could work. But why would he want to track peonies —”  
  
“I don’t care! Make up something! Say somebody stole them without paying! Come on, we gotta catch ‘em before we lose _them_ too!” Sakura grabbed Ino by the elbow and ran down the street after the boy and his dog.

* * *

You were pretty sure Kakashi had just ditched you. That, _or_ this was an elaborate roleplay to see if you were worthy of the date in the first place. He’d just assigned you the task of getting rid of the genin that were following you. Or rather, following him. As far as you were concerned, the two girls didn’t know about you - and they certainly didn’t know you were on a date.

 _It’s okay_ , you thought to yourself as you walked down the street, three peonies in your trembling hands. _I can call it that. HE called it that. A date. Except … we’re not on the date now. Whatever. It doesn’t matter. I’m going to lose these girls and then I’m going to get dinner with Kakashi!_  
  
You and Kakashi had parted ways a few streets back, and you had yet to see these two supposed stalkers. Kakashi couldn’t even point them out to you.  
  
“Well, they’re not _here_ ,” he had mused, still lounging against the dango shop wall. “But they’re trying to _find_ me. I could easily give them the slip, but where’s the fun in that? Besides, it’ll help them to develop some necessary shinobi skills. Plus, I can work up an appetite.”  
  
“I already have,” you had muttered, but didn’t receive a response.   
  
At least he had given you a brief description of both girls and you figured they’d be pretty easy to spot - especially since Kakashi said they often couldn’t go more than fifteen minutes without breaking out into an argument. It seemed like you’d be able to see (that was, hear) them coming from a mile away.  
  
“Now,” you said, taking one of the peonies and twirling it between your fingers. “I just gotta get rid of these. So much for flowers on our first date. Oh well.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura and Ino manage to get Kiba and Akamaru tangled in their scheme and begin closing in on finding the flowers; you aren't sure how much longer you can go without eating (wasn't this supposed to be a DINNER date?); and where's Kakashi during all of this?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not used to using "Y/N" in stories, but I recently installed an extension called "InteractiveFics" which changes all instances of "Y/N" to whatever name you put in. It's free to download and pretty cool (it doesn't reset every time you get online, so sometimes I'll be in the middle of reading a story and see my name and kinda freak out ... until I remember it's the extension substituting my name, haha). It makes reading reader-insert stories a lot more personal and fun!
> 
> If I have any typos or errors, please feel free to message me and /kindly/ let me know so I can fix it! xoxo

“Wait,” Kiba said slowly, looking from Ino to Sakura with an expression full of suspicion. “So you’re telling me somebody came into your shop and stole six flowers?”  
  
“Not just any flowers,” Ino stressed. “Peonies. Pink ones. They’re so pretty - and kind of expensive. They’re really nice flowers and I’d like to find them. My parents left me in charge of the shop and if they find out that somebody stole merchandise, I’ll —” She froze, eyes shooting to the size of saucers. “OH NO!” she screeched, turning white as a sheet. “My parents! They’ll be back from dinner soon! And I left the shop unattended! I didn’t even put up the Closed sign! I’m gonna be in so much trouble!” Frantically, she grabbed a fistful of Kiba’s jacket and yanked him closer. “Listen here, mister, you’re gonna use your dog to find those flowers - and you’re gonna find them _fast_. Got it?”  
  
“Y-Yeah, sure - whatever!” Kiba struggled to free himself but Ino’s nails dug into the fabric even tighter. “P-Please - you’re choking - me!” Akamaru cowered on top of his head, sinking his claws into the hoodie to keep from falling off.  
  
“I’m glad we understand each other!” Ino released Kiba and gave him a threatening smile. “Now, get to work!”  
  
Kiba grabbed a shaking Akamaru and set him on the ground. “It’s okay, boy. Don’t listen to her. Do you know what peonies smell like?”  
  
Akamaru whined and shook his head.  
  
“UGH! WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!” Ino screamed, startling nearby shoppers. “You guys wait here - Sakura, make sure they don’t leave!” With that, Ino stormed off down the road and back to her flower shop.  
  
“Where’s she going?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Sakura admitted, watching the girl sprint away in a storm of dust. “Hopefully she comes back, though.”

* * *

Kakashi stood outside of the bookshop, eying the new releases displayed on the shelves. “Hm,” he sighed quietly, feeling the cool stems of the three flowers against the pads of his fingers. “I wonder how Akimi is doing. Ha. I’m sure they’re fine. They are a shinobi, after all. Ah - is that?” His eyes stopped on the cover of a pale blue book in the corner of the display bookshelf. “Is that a new _Icha Icha_ book?!”

Quickly, he ran inside the shop, not sure if he quite believed his eyes.

* * *

Panting and sweating, Ino stumbled back to the group and held up a single, solitary pink peony. “This … is … a peony … You … should … smell it … so you … can find … it.” She shoved the flower at Kiba who dangled it to Akamaru’s level. The small dog took in several hurried sniffs and yipped.

“What’s that, Akamaru?” Kiba asked excitedly, pulling the flower back and tucking it into his jacket pocket.  
  
“Hey, you can’t keep that —”  
  
Akamaru barked again and took off down the road.  
  
“Come on, guys!” Kiba shouted, running after the dog.  
  
“Seriously?” Ino gasped, resting her hands on her thighs. “I just ran all the way to my shop and back, and now I gotta run again?”  
  
“Well,” Sakura said casually, “you don’t _have_ to go. I can just find out who they’re for and tell you.”  
  
“Nice try!” Ino jumped up and glared at the girl. “You’re not going anywhere without me! They _are_ my flowers, after all! Now let’s go before we need another tracking dog to find Kiba!”  
  
The two girls took off together, barely keeping up with Akamaru and his owner. All four followed the dog through crowds, behind a few shops, and finally down a street that seemed mostly deserted.  
  
“This doesn’t seem right,” Sakura said quietly. It was getting dark fast and the air was thick with the smells of oil and fire. “Where are we? I can’t imagine Kakashi-sensei coming down here.”  
  
“Huh?” Kiba asked, glancing over his shoulder. “What’s Kakashi-sensei got to do with this?”  
  
Ino threw a punch at Sakura and hit her in the shoulder.  
  
“I - I - I mean -! I can’t imagine a flower thief would come this way! Ha ha ha ha ha!”  
  
“Billboard Brow,” Ino hissed through clenched teeth, “you keep your fat mouth shut before you spill the beans!”  
  
“It was an accident!” she hissed back.  
  
Akamaru stopped suddenly and began sniffing the ground, turning in circles.  
  
“What is it boy? Do you smell something? Where is it? Where are the flowers?”  
  
Akamaru lifted his head and started off down another side street.  
  
“Jeez, this guy sure went a long way,” Kiba muttered. “I wonder what he wanted with flowers, anyway? A waste of money if you ask me. I guess he thought the same and that’s why he stole ‘em, right? Ha ha ha.”  
  
“Hey!” Ino growled, ready to throw another punch. “Flowers are a beautiful expression of love and appreciation! They are appropriate for any occasion and can often say more than what we ourselves are comfortable saying! And _nobody asked you_!”  
  
“Whatever. Huh? Look! That guy there - he has a pink flower!”  
  
“What? Where?!” both girls shouted together, shoving against each other to be the first to see.  
  
Sure enough, down the street was a man in a light blue yukata with dark hair, carrying a single peony.  
  
“That’s not —” Sakura began before stopping herself. “I mean, Ino, _is that the person who stole your flowers_?”  
  
Ino gave a worried look to the other genin. “Gee, I don’t know Sakura, _I didn’t get a good look at his face_.”  
  
“It has to be - come on, guys! Akamaru, wait up!” Kiba took off after his dog and the two girls reluctantly followed. Akamaru nipped at the heels of the man and barked wildly. The man, caught off guard, let out a surprised yelp and stepped backwards, dropping the flower on the ground. Akamaru grabbed it in his mouth and growled at the man.  
  
“H-Hey, is this your dog?” he cried when Kiba approached.  
  
“Yeah, and you’re a thief! Where are the other flowers, old man?”  
  
“Wh-What? What other flowers?”  
  
“You know what I mean!” Kiba grabbed the peony from Akamaru’s mouth and shoved it violently into the man’s face. “These flowers! You stole six of them! Give ‘em all back or else you’ll have to pay.”  
  
“P-Pay?” the man sputtered, looking terrified.  
  
“Yeah, pay what you owe to the shop! You can’t steal things, man! It’s not cool!” Proud of himself and his ninken’s work, Kiba turned to Ino and Sakura. “I caught your thief. You’re welcome.”  
  
“N-No,” Ino stuttered, looking bewildered and very embarrassed. “I - I don’t think this is him —”  
  
“What are you talking about? I caught him red-handed! He has the flowers! Or, at least, one of them. Again - where are the others?”  
  
“Listen, I don’t know what you’re talking about! I didn’t steal anything! I was given this flower!”  
  
“Huh? Given it? By who?” Sakura asked.  
  
“I don’t know. There was someone walking down the street and they offered me one. Didn’t say much - except that they had a few to spare. Said I could take it home and give it to my wife. Give it back!” He reached out and snatched the flower from Kiba’s hand.  
  
“Well,” Ino began eagerly, “who was it? What did they look like?”  
  
“I don’t know - nothing memorable. They had a yukata on, like me. I think theirs was … kinda green-ish? And they had hair lighter than mine.”  
  
“Is that all you remember?” Ino gaped in exasperation. “Well, which way did they go?”  
  
“Listen, kid, I met them about five minutes ago. They could be anywhere by now! They seemed to be in an awful rush, too. And so am I!” Turning on his heels, the man stormed away, muttering unkindly about the state of ninja these days.  
  
“Well that was a bust,” Kiba sighed, his shoulders slumping. He reached down and scratched Akamaru under the chin. “You did good, boy. You found what you were supposed to!”  
  
“Yeah, but not all of them.” Ino looked up and down the street, contemplating what to do next. “Do you think he can try again? Please? I really need to find them - even just a few of them! I can explain away one or two missing, but six? My parents are going to be so mad.”  
  
“Fine. Akamaru, do you smell anything now?”  
  
The dog sniffed around in the dirt again, trotting along down the side street. Sakura and Ino both felt a wave of relief wash over them when he started leading them back to the main street where most of the people were. They hung back a ways as they followed, making sure Kiba couldn’t hear them talk.  
  
“What do you think Kakashi-sensei’s doing, giving away the flowers?” Sakura whispered, her voice almost lost in the clamor of the upcoming busy street.  
  
“I don’t know. Is that like him?”  
  
“I’ve never really known sensei to buy anything for anyone. He’s kind of a cheapskate.”  
  
“Huh. So that means that whoever the flowers are for is _really_ special, right?”  
  
“Yeah, I’d say so.” The pink-haired girl sighed and looked up to the darkening sky. “I’d really like to know who they’re for, too, you know. I think it’s so romantic that Kakashi-sensei has somebody he’d buy flowers for. I’d like to meet that person, whoever they are.”  
  
“I think Akamaru’s onto something,” came Kiba’s sharp tone. “Hurry up you two! It’s your flowers we’re finding!”  
  
“Okay, okay,” Ino relented, “we’re coming!”

* * *

Somehow you’d managed to pass by Kakashi again while you were wandering around the village. You’d just come back from walking around the Academy and now you were headed towards Ichiraku. You saw Kakashi strolling about, his nose deep in another book.

_Figures_ , you thought a bit bitterly, a final peony in your hands. Kakashi still had two more, though he didn’t look like he was busy getting rid of them. When you passed by, he glanced up and smiled.  
  
“Yo,” he said, throwing up a peace sign as best as he could, the two flowers dangling precariously from his palm. Without saying anything else, he walked off.  
  
_That man_ , you grumbled as you headed off towards the ramen stand. _If he’s not gonna buy me dinner until this whole thing is over, I might as well treat myself. I’m starving! I wish I’d gotten some dango while I had the chance._  
  
As you headed towards the brightly illuminated stand, you passed by a group of strangers. One was walking slower than the rest and you nearly bumped into them.  
“Oh, sorry!” you said quickly, looking up from your courteous bow of apology. You froze, bug-eyed, and stared at the person in front of you. They stared back, just as concerned and perplexed.  
  
“You - You - You -” they sputtered, pointing a shaking finger at you. “You have my - my face!”  
  
_Oh of COURSE! Of all the people I could run into it HAD to be the civilian I transformed into!_  
  
You laughed wildly, shaking your head. “W-Wow! What a wild coincidence! I’ve heard that there are seven people in the world who look like you - I never thought I’d meet one so soon! Ah ha ha! Well, I don’t want anyone thinking I have an evil twin out there! So you behave for my sake, and I’ll behave for yours. Bye!” You scurried off before they could say anything, though you could hear them trying to form a coherent thought as their friends backtracked to ask what had happened.  
  
Teuchi and Ayame greeted you warmly as you ducked under the cloth curtains and took a seat at one of the barstools. The strong aroma of grilled meats, fishcakes, and fresh veggies hung on the air, cut through with the sound of bubbling dashi and the solid _thunk_ of a large knife slicing through food and hitting a wooden cutting board.  
  
“Good evening!” Ayame beamed, heading over towards you. “Welcome to Ichiraku! What can we get for you?”  
  
You looked over the menu tacked to the wall and cupped your chin with your thumb and index finger, your heart still racing from your exchange with the civilian. “Hmm. You know, I think I’ll go for the barbecue pork ramen - with an extra egg!” After all the ridiculous crap you’d gone through today, you certainly deserved to treat yourself.  
  
“Sure thing!”  
  
You pulled out your wallet from under the thin belt of your yukata and thumbed through the bills. _Tch. I should really charge Kakashi for this. Oh well.  
_  
“Oh, that’s such a pretty flower!” Ayame breathed, noticing the peony you still held.  
  
“Huh? Oh, thank you! It was a gift. I mean - uh, it _is_ a gift.” You laughed lightly and held it up for both cooks to see. “I’ve only got one left!”

* * *

Kiba, Ino and Sakura stood outside of the bookshop, looking at the display window of new releases. Akamaru insisted that this was where the smell was coming from and he would not budge from his position beside the front door. The flowers were in the shop.

“Well, we’re not getting any younger,” Kiba finally said. He pushed open the door and the others followed him inside, though rather reluctantly. There were few places to hide and spy in the store and they didn’t feel like confronting Kakashi in such a cramped place. Still, they had no choice - if Akamaru said the flowers were here, then that’s where they were.  
  
Inside the shop, they carefully studied the lady at the front counter and a few customers who were browsing the fiction section, but none of them had any flowers. Kakashi wasn’t among them.  
  
“I think your dog’s sniffer is broken,” Ino grumbled. “There’s nothing in here.”  
  
“Just give him a minute. Look - he’s onto something.” Kiba led the group towards the back of the store and around a corner. Their eyes were trained on Akamaru as he darted back and forth down the aisle and to a bookshelf. He turned and let out a soft grunt, letting Kiba know that this was where the smell was coming from.  
  
“Now I _know_ it’s broken,” Ino griped. “There’s nobody here. Maybe he’s got some smells crossed and he’s been sniffing out something else?”  
  
“No way. Akamaru is an excellent tracker. There must be something here.” Kiba started hauling out the books and inspecting the wooden shelves. Ino and Sakura followed his lead and removed stacks of novels, checking in between pages and even seeing if someone had possible taped a flower underneath the shelves.  
  
“I can’t find anything,” Sakura said desperately as she shook one book violently. “Where else in this aisle would they be? Who hides a flower in a bookshop anyway?”  
  
“You know who,” Ino growled quietly, shooting a mean look at the other girl.  
  
Akamaru whined when Kiba picked up a pale blue book and pawed at the boy’s leg. “I think this is it, guys!” Kiba grinned, not bothering to look at what book it was. He flipped through the pages and soon a handful of pink petals came tumbling out from the book, followed by a few torn leaves and a crushed stem.  
  
“ _What?!_ ” Ino cried, collapsing to scoop up the ruined flower. “Who did this? _Why_ would they do this? My - My flowers!”  
  
Kiba grimaced at the sight and then turned his attention to the book, hoping maybe there’d be a clue as to who left the flower there or where the others were. His face flushed bright red and he shoved it back on the shelf. “Uh, guys - I don’t think we’re supposed to be here.”  
  
“Huh? What do you mean?” Sakura started, helping Ino clear up the mess.  
  
“This is a —”  
  
“Hey! You kids!”  
  
The three of them wheeled around to see an older man standing there, gesturing wildly at them. “You get out of there! That section is adult only! You can’t read any of those until you’re 18!”  
  
Sakura and Ino jumped up in horror and looked to the book Kiba had just reshelved. It was one of the _Icha Icha_ books, which Sakura immediately recognized as the series her teacher read.  
  
“S-Sorry!” she stammered out, grabbing the two other ninjas by the wrist and dragging them off. “We - We just got lost! Trying to find a book our friend recommended. It’s not in there, though! Bye!”  
  
As fast as their legs would carry them, the three ran out of the shop and onto the dark street.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's late, it's hot, you're stuffed, the genin are exhausted. Kakashi finally decides to show up and there's only two flowers left to find. What a mess!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a short chapter this time. I wrote parts 2-5 as one long part and had to find suitable places to split it up! Also my writing programs weren't working so I've been having to reformat everything. Blegh!

You lounged on the stool at Ichiraku for a while longer, drumming your fingers against the counter. Teuchi and Ayame were busy washing dishes and cleaning up for the night. It was already dark out and you knew that pretty soon almost every shop and restaurant would be closed.  
  
“So much for a date,” you muttered under your breath, finally allowing yourself to feel a little depressed about the whole situation. “The guy asks _me_ out and then does this. I should’ve known it was to blow me off. If he didn’t want to go out, he shoulda just said so.” Standing, you gave a courteous bow to the cooks before leaving the bright lights of the ramen stand and heading out into the evening.  
  
“I should go home,” you sighed, looking up towards the sky. A few stars twinkled back at you, but it didn’t seem as romantic as you would’ve liked it to be. You were here, alone, disguised as somebody else, having just eaten at a ramen stand instead of a fancy new restaurant, and all of your flowers were gone - given away. The evening seemed to be getting worse and worse.  
  
“If this is how all his dates go, it’s no wonder he’s single.”  
  
“Hey, that’s not very nice.”  
  
You spun around, caught off guard, and saw - to your embarrassment - Kakashi walking behind you. He had one hand in his pocket and his typical lazy expression on his face. Blushing, you crossed your arms defensively. “Well, I don’t think it was very nice of you to ditch me like that.”  
  
“Ditch you? I didn’t ditch you. I was trying to those genin off our backs for a while. I think we’ve bought ourselves enough time.”  
  
“I saw you had enough time to buy yourself a new book.”  
  
He stepped beside you and seemed even taller than before. Maybe the person you transformed into was shorter than you were normally and you just didn’t notice until now. “And since it’s so dark,” Kakashi noted without paying attention to your remark, “nobody will be able to tell it’s us. You can get rid of that transformation jutsu.”  
  
“Gee, thanks, glad to know you only wanna be seen with me in the dark.”  
  
“That’s not _exactly_ what I said.”  
  
Releasing the jutsu, you transformed back into yourself and sighed heavily in relief. You’d never been happier to be yourself, and it made you glad you didn’t have to keep using the jutsu during dinner. You ignored the fact that Kakashi’s height hadn’t changed; you really _were_ that short.  
  
“You know, I ran into the person I transformed into. Do you know how scary that was? I thought for sure I’d been found out.”  
  
“I’m sure you handled it well. We’d better get going. I think that restaurant is only open until 11 tonight.”  
  
“Mhm.” You were resigned to the fact that this day was not going at all how you imagined, but you were thankful that Kakashi had turned up again. He hadn’t deserted you after all, which was really nice to know. Although he did seem to keep a stride or two ahead of you as you walked back towards the heart of the village where the restaurant was. You chalked it up to his legs being longer than yours.

* * *

Sakura, Ino, Kiba, and Akamaru stood outside of the Academy, digging through the bushes. Finally Ino pulled back and hysterically shouted, “I got it!” She waved the peony in the air victoriously, sending a few petals soaring to the ground, and plucked twigs out of her hair. 

“What’s it doing all the way out here?” Sakura whined, grabbing the flower out of Ino’s hand. “I feel like we’re getting farther from finding Ka - the thief! And why’d he bother to buy - I mean, bother _stealing_ them just to throw them all away? It seems weird …”  
  
“Another one? Already?” Kiba grunted as Akamaru took off again. “This one must be close by. Let’s go!”  
  
“Do you think he figured it out?” Ino asked, brushing dark leaves off of the front of her shirt. “Do you think he’s just running us around the village for fun?”  
  
“Well, that _is_ something he would do … But I haven’t seem him at all, so I don’t know how he would know we were following him. Or how he had time to hide all of these flowers!”  
  
“Maybe he wasn’t buying them for anybody after all,” Ino said dejectedly. “Maybe this whole time he knew we’d be suspicious so he bought them just to mess with us.”  
  
“Maybe. Let’s go see what Akamaru found.”  
  
They jogged after the others and soon came upon Ichiraku Ramen, where they saw Kiba standing inside the shop. They parted the curtains and ducked inside.  
  
“I’m sorry, but we’re closing,” Ayame explained to Kiba. “It’s pretty late and we’ve put away everything.”  
  
“I’m not hungry,” Kiba stressed. “I’m looking for something. For - that!” He motioned behind Ayame to the shelf where a dozen ceramic bowls were sitting. Among them was a pink peony, looking a little wilted and worn from the summer heat.  
  
“What? This? What about it?” She grabbed the flower and held it for the three to see.  
  
“Who gave that to you?” demanded Ino, slapping her hands on the counter with enough force to rattle the glass container of chopsticks.  
  
“Just a nice person who stopped by! They were actually our last customer. Said it was a gift. It was their last one.”  
  
“Last one?” Sakura collapsed onto one of the stools and dropped her head into her hands. “Did you see what they looked like at least?”  
  
“Nothing remarkable,” Teuchi cut in. “Just a civilian dressed for the summer. I don’t really remember much about them, sorry.”  
  
“Thanks, anyway,” Ino sighed. “Come on, you guys. Let’s go. I’m sure my parents are back now and wondering what happened.”  
  
The three ninja and the ninken filed out of the shop and into the dark village. The lively sounds of a summer evening had died down and there were only a few distant conversations being carried on the night air. Most of the lights were off, painting the streets in shades of dark blue and black.  
  
“We’ve only found four of them,” Sakura noted. “But you said there were six, right?”  
  
“Yes. Can’t that dog try again? Find the last two?”  
  
Kiba knelt down and pulled out the peony Ino had brought from the shop, sticking it out for Akamaru to smell again. “What about it, buddy? Can you find the other two?”  
  
The small dog sniffed around the ground for a few moments before whining and shaking his head.  
  
“Sorry, guys,” Kiba said as he scooped up the dog and cradled him in his arms. “He’s pretty worn out. Sorry we can’t help you more.”  
  
“It’s alright,” said Ino, giving a pitiful smile to the exhausted dog. “You helped a lot, today. Thanks. It means a lot to me.”  
  
“Of course. We’re glad to put our skills to use! Although, next time we wouldn’t mind being compensated.”  
  
Ino rolled her eyes, “Yeah, sure, whatever. Next time I’ll buy you some dog treats or something.”  
  
“Nice! I’ll hold you to that! Let’s go home, bud.” Kiba handed Ino back her peony before heading down the street. When he was about fifty feet away, he let out a sudden cry of disappointment and screamed, “I never got my dumplings! Aw man!”  
  
Sakura turned to Ino and the girls stood in contemplative silence, completely ignoring the fuming genin stalking away from them.  
  
“I don’t know what to do now,” Ino said. “I really thought that we would’ve found him by now. We searched the whole village! He’s probably gone home already. He’s probably laughing at us, right now!”  
  
“Sensei can pull a lot of jokes on us,” Sakura agreed, “but I would’ve thought that if he did this on purpose, he would’ve shown up by now to tell us we needed to work harder. I guess we’re not as good as I thought we were.” She sighed heavily and shuffled her feet back towards her home. “I guess neither of us will get to know who the flowers were for, _if_ they were for anybody to begin with.”  
  
“And I need to get back to the shop before my parents completely lose their minds,” Ino pouted, already anticipating the worried and annoyed lecture her parents would have waiting for her. “What a waste of time. The next time I see that Kakashi-sensei, I’m gonna tell him what’s what and let him know that if he ever wants to buy flowers from my shop again, he has to let me know who they’re for!”  
  
“Right,” Sakura drawled, shooting an unimpressed look to the girl, “like he’s gonna listen to you. You already tried that and it didn’t work. _That’s why we’re out here in the first place_.”  
  
“Oh, shut up Billboard Brow! I don’t care! My shop, my rules.” Ino stopped and clutched at her stomach when it growled loudly. “Ugh. I’m so hungry … We’ve been out here for a long time. Do you think any place is open?”  
  
“I don’t know. It looks like a lot of lights are off. Oh! I think that one that just opened - that Botan one? I think the sign said it was open until 11.”  
  
Ino rubbed her stomach, “Well we can stop by and see if they do take-out. I can’t be any later than I already am. And I’m not quite dressed for a sit-down restaurant.”  
  
Sakura and Ino looked each other over and grimaced. Both of them were covered head-to-toe in dirt, sweat, leaves, and dog fur. Even in the late evening they could tell their hair was greasy and feet were covered in road dust.  
  
“At least it’s dark outside,” Sakura offered, though she knew it didn’t help much. “And I’m sure everyone we know is already home so it’s not like we’re gonna run into anybody important!”  
  
“Right,” added Ino, trying to cheer herself up. “And tomorrow is still the weekend, so we don’t have any training which means we can sleep in.”  
  
“Exactly!”  
  
There were a few minutes of awkward silence as the girls hobbled down the road towards Botan restaurant. There were still a handful of people walking about, but many of them were headed towards the taverns or gambling halls. The aroma of decadent food had been replaced by alcohol and body odor. The half moon hung high overhead, lighting their path to the restaurant.  
  
“Hey, Ino?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Listen … I’m sorry we couldn’t figure out who the flowers were for. I know you really wanted to know - not because of Kakashi-sensei, but because the flowers are important to you. And since we didn’t find out … You don’t have to give me the daffodils for Sasuke.”  
  
Ino let out a breathy laugh, too tired to fight, and smiled, “Gee, thanks.” She paused for a moment before nodding. “I appreciate it. I mean, you understanding. Thanks for coming along with me, and for suggesting to get Kiba and Akamaru to help. We didn’t find them all, but we found quite a few. We did good.”  
  
“Yeah,” Sakura said, giving a weak smile. “We _did_ do good.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi always keeps his promises, even if it seems he'd forgotten them somewhere along the way. So if he promised you a dinner, then dang it, you're going to have a dinner! Even if you spent half the day eluding genin; even if you're totally exhausted and covered in sweat; even if it's the last thing you do! The day is drawing to a close and so is the story. This is Kakashi's last chance to make things right and make good on that date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh! The final chapter! Thanks so much for all the kudos, comments, and bookmarks! You guys have been amazing! This is one of the very few pieces I have actually finished (as well as my first reader-insert story and my first Kakashi-centered fic)! I really hope you guys like this ending!

Botan restaurant was not as fancy as you had imagined, but you were thankful since you weren’t exactly ready to go to a high-end restaurant. Kakashi was still in his uniform, and you had worked up a sweat walking around the village to get rid of the flowers. You could still feel sweat running down your back and pooling at the base of your spine, and you were pretty sure there was a layer of grimy dirt all across your face - but Kakashi didn’t say anything about it if you did. Neither of you appeared to be upper class diners, and Botan ended up being a good place to go after all. Of course, you had already eaten at Ichiraku and weren’t as hungry as before.  
  
But, you were eager for the food to arrive because you were dining with the Copy Ninja; the one whose face was so well hidden, only a handful of people had ever seen it. Now that you were sitting down with him, you realized just how soon you’d get to see his face while he ate. You’d get to see Hatake Kakashi’s face, finally! Sure, you hadn’t been waiting as long as some people to see it, but you’d done a year and a half of waiting which was plenty long enough for you. You tried to keep cool, smiling nicely and folding your hands together.  
  
“What?” Kakashi asked, turning his one dark eye to you. “Your mood changed suddenly. What is it?”  
  
“Oh nothing!” you laughed, waving your hand through the air. “I’m just happy that we got to come here after all that work! I’m glad your plan got those kids out of our hair for a while.”  
  
Kakashi eyed you before looking around the room. “You aren’t disappointed?”  
  
“Hm? About what?” _Yikes! Is it that obvious? I mean, I was disappointed before when he sent me off with the flowers, but now I’m not … not really, at least._  
  
“The flowers.”  
  
Your breath caught in your throat and you blushed warmly, looking away. “Wh-What about them? We used them as a distraction so we could have dinner. How could I be disappointed about that?”  
  
“You got rid of all of yours?”  
  
“Yeah, of course. You told me to.”  
  
Kakashi hummed in approval. “Good. I thought maybe for a moment you’d try to keep them and that would’ve spoiled the evening.”  
  
“Well, no … you asked me to get rid of them - I’m capable of following orders, you know!”  
  
“That’s not what I meant. I meant that if you’d kept any of them, it would’ve made this gesture a little less … hm, anyway.” He laughed lightly and scratched at his cheek, looking away.  
  
“What? What do you m —”  
  
You didn’t get the chance to finish your question before Kakashi pulled out - seemingly out of thin air — a single pink peony. It looked just as fresh as it had earlier in the evening, as if it hadn’t just been carted around in the summer heat for several hours. He reached across the table and handed you the flower, nudging the rigid end of the stem into your open hand.  
  
“This is for you,” he said casually, sitting back.  
  
“Wh-What?” you gasped, holding the flower up to your nose to breathe in the earthy scent. “It - I - _what_? I thought you got rid of them all. Wasn’t that the point?”  
  
“Well, what kind of man would I be if I didn’t even get you flowers on our first date? I had to bring you at least one.”  
  
Your face burned hot and your eyes darted away from him when he turned to look at you. “Uh - well, thanks,” you mumbled. “But I … I didn’t save one for you! I hid all three of them.”  
  
“I know. You did really well. And actually,” he pulled out a second peony and held it up for you to see. He gave a bit of an embarrassed laugh and said, “I kept this one too. I figured I might as well … Maybe by hiding only a few of the flowers instead of all of them, they’d be preoccupied with trying to find the last ones —”  
  
“That were never hidden. I see. So you bought us even more time.” You nodded slowly in realization, turning the flower around to inspect the outside petals. They glowed nearly orange in the restaurant’s lighting. _Wait … if he kept TWO flowers and only gave me one … Is he keeping one for himself?!_ You looked back at him but only briefly as you saw he was still staring at you. “Uh! Well … thank you! I appreciate it.”  
  
“Here you go!” came a rather chipper voice. You both turned to see your waiter carrying two plates of food. He set down a hot plate in front of you and the other in front of your date. Only now did you regret ordering hot food - it was air conditioned in the building, but you were still sweating. There was no way a piping hot meal would help that any.  
  
“Thank you!” you exclaimed anyway. “That was really fast!”  
  
“We’d love to make a good first impression,” the young man explained, his face shining even brighter than your sweat-coated one in the dim light, “since it is our grand opening after all. Please - enjoy!”  
  
“Ahh - Kakashi-san! This is so -” You moved to pick up a fork but you never got the opportunity.  
  
Faster than you’d ever seen the man move before, Kakashi was up, had you by the arm, and was walking you towards the exit.  
  
“What - What are you doing?” you protested, gripping the flower tight in one hand and trying to free yourself with the other. “Are you seriously not eating? I told you I didn’t mind that I’d already gone to Ichiraku - I’d make room! Our food just got here!” _I didn’t even get to see his face!_  
  
“Sorry,” he said, his voice far more jovial than his tense body would suggest. Once you two were near the hostess stand, he released your arm. “I hate to part ways like this, but unfortunately we’ll have to reschedule our dinner.”  
  
“Was it something I said? I actually don’t mind that you kept a flower for yourself! You didn’t have to get me anything!”  
  
“That’s not it.” He looked out towards the front street and your eyes followed his. Two girls were idling under the awning, holding a peony of their own. Although it was dark, the lights inside the restaurant illuminated part of the street and threw orange-tinted light across the girls’ faces; you recognized them from Kakashi’s descriptions. Sakura and Ino.  
  
“ _They found us?!_ ” you choked in disbelief, doing your best not to screech out your frustration. “I did all that running around the village for _nothing_?”  
  
“I don’t think they’ve noticed us, but I don’t want to give them the chance. We’ll have to leave separately.” He looked at you and for the first time, you noticed that his attitude had changed. He didn’t have his usual laid-back demeanor or could-care-less stance. Even wearing his mask and hitai-ate, you could see that disappointment was crossing his face. For a brief moment, his eye met yours and he feigned a smile, shrugging rigidly. “Oh well! I suppose this is what happens when you don’t tell your students what you’re doing. I’ll let you leave first.”  
  
You hesitated, clutching at the stem of the peony. Your eyes searched his face but he turned away, shifting so his back was to the entrance just in case the girls looked inside. Your feet seemed cemented to the spot, your heart was turning inside your chest, your mind was racing. All of that - that running around and duping those kids, for nothing? They found you anyway? And Kakashi was giving up, just like that? That didn’t seem like something a legendary ninja would do.  
  
Kakashi threw a sideways glance to you, “You can go now. I’ll leave in a bit. I don’t want them to see us together - I mean, I don’t want them harassing you because you were with me.”  
  
Stubbornly, you shook your head, trying to think of something to say.  
  
“Really, Y/N,” Kakashi said in a low voice, “you should go. I know the genin in this village. They won’t leave you alone if they think we’re —”  
  
“Well we are, aren’t we?” you blurted, finally managing to speak. “We _are_ on a date, aren’t we? And I can handle a few curious genin. I - I didn’t run all around Konoha, give away all my flowers, get covered in sweat, and nearly starve half to death just to be bested by a few kids! I mean, I’m actually really impressed with their tracking skills but … but this was our time and - and well, I … I’m not going to miss out on a date with you, even if it means I’ll be harassed the rest of my life by your students!”  
  
Kakashi seemed taken aback by how forward you were, but he dispelled any of your fears of the date being cut short by relaxing his shoulders and giving a shy but genuine smile that spread to his visible eye. “Oh, well - if you really feel that way … I guess we can continue, then. Do you want to go back to our table?”  
  
You glanced back towards the front of the restaurant and saw the girls still waiting outside. A bit of boldness rose up in your chest and you started to say no - you wanted to confront these genin who were so keen on stalking Kakashi - but before you could open your mouth, both of them stepped inside and headed for the hostess stand. A surprised squeak escaped your lips and you nodded vigorously.  
  
“Yes! Let’s go back to our table!” You grabbed Kakashi by the wrist and dragged him back to where you were sitting. When you got there, you were greeted by the waiter who looked dumbfounded at your absence. He had obviously returned to ask how the meal was.  
  
“S-Sorry,” you wheezed as you sat down, hoping no one noticed how anxious you looked. “We just stepped outside for a bit! Ah ha - we’ll eat now!”

* * *

You sat transfixed on the man in front of you. He sat, staring right back at you. Your hands were trembling in your lap as you waited for him to pick up a fork or spoon or _something_ and start eating. You watched intently, aware of any small movement his shoulders or arms made. You were ready. You were going to see his face. 

Okay, maybe that shouldn’t have been your only concern about the date (especially since Sakura and Ino were only a hundred or so feet away at the front of the restaurant) - _buuuut_ it certainly was a nice bonus. A date and a dramatic reveal? You couldn’t resist.  
  
“You can start,” Kakashi began, motioning towards your own plate of food. “Don’t wait for me.”  
  
“Oh, no, Kakashi,” you said sweetly, “you go right ahead yourself! My stomach is still kinda full from Ichiraku. Just give me a few minutes and I’ll be good to go.”  
  
“Alright. If you insist.” Kakashi reached for a fork with one hand and raised his other hand towards his face. All but his index finger folded against his palm as he hooked his short nail under the edge of his mask. “I’m glad we decided to come here,” he said, gently tugging at the dark fabric.  
  
You could feel your palms sweating even more than before and you watched eagerly as the mask was slowly pulled down the bridge of his nose.  
  
_Just a few more inches and I’ll get to see his face! I wonder how many others have gotten to do that? Maybe that’s why those girls were following him … Not to see who I was, but to see HIM! Oh, right - I can’t look too eager or else he’ll know._  
  
You could see the curve of his nose and a little more of his cheek than before. So close. Just another inch and you’d get to see his mouth …  
  
There was a sudden crash and you looked over, your heart somewhere in your throat. Your waiter was lying prostrate on the ground across the room, surrounded by shattered dishes and food. “I’m - I’m so sorry,” he cried, wiping soup off of his face with the back of his sleeve. “I tripped! Please, sir, let me get something to clean up and I’ll have your order out in no time!” He hoisted himself up and began clearing away the bigger pieces of the dishes.  
  
“Did you see that —?” You began, turning back to Kakashi. “ _WHAT?!_ ”  
  
Kakashi was sitting back, his mask on, his plate empty.  
  
“That’s - That’s _impossible_!” you shouted, slamming your fists onto the table. “Are you kidding me?!”  
  
“What? What’s wrong?”  
  
Growling in annoyance, you threw your hand into the air. “Waiter! Can I get a to-go box?”

* * *

“I had a nice time,” Kakashi said, strolling out onto the street with his hands in his pockets and the peony tucked behind the collar of his flak jacket. The soft petals pushed up under his chin, gently brushing against the fabric of his mask. “Thank you for joining me.” 

“Mhm,” you sighed, holding your paper box against your chest. “It was a lot more … eventful … than I thought it’d be.”  
  
“Yeah, sorry about that.”  
  
“Oh no! I didn’t mean it that way! I meant … well, everything is an adventure with you, huh?”  
  
Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and glanced up at the star-speckled sky. “That bad, huh? It won’t hurt my feelings if you decide not to see me again. I mean - not too much, at least.”  
  
Despite the teasing tone, you could tell he was serious. You reached out and gently placed your hand on his forearm, your thumb and index finger resting along the section of bare skin between his sleeve hem and the cuff of his glove. He looked over, his eyebrow raised in a question.  
  
“Actually, it’s been a really nice night. And I think it was better this way … I have a better understanding of you and what you do. And now I know what to expect! Thank you, Kakashi-san, honestly. I think this has been my favorite date - ever!”  
  
“Oh, good!” Kakashi laughed in relief and stuck his hand back into his pocket. "I was a bit worried maybe you thought … I’m glad I didn’t ruin it. Maybe it’s sudden but …  would you like to join me next weekend? I promise I’ll try not to raise anyone’s suspicions before we go out. Maybe _I_ should use a disguise …”  
  
Laughing, you squeezed his arm and shook your head, “I really don’t care what technique you use, as long as I get to see you again. Outside of the Hokage’s office. Next weekend sounds wonderful. I’ll see you then. Should we meet at the same place? The dango shop?”  
  
“Sure. We could probably eat there. Maybe it’d be less trouble.”  
  
You stepped back and bowed, pressing the pink flower against your rapidly beating heart and making sure your food didn’t spill out of the box. _I didn’t get to see his face, but … I don’t think that matters. I had a great time after all. And I’ve already got a second date planned! Plus I didn’t even have to pay the bill! And I’d heard he was such a cheapskate._ Standing up, you gave him a broad smile and said, “Goodnight, Kakashi-san. I’ll see you next weekend!”  
  
“Goodnight, Y/N,” Kakashi replied calmly, giving you a slight bow. “See you then.”  
  
Quickly, he disappeared into the night. You strolled along the street, burying your nose into the soft petals of the peony. The smells of the summer night drifted lazily around you, mixing with the flower and sending a burning blush over your face. One successful date down - another one to go! Even though it was far different than what you’d imagined, your time with Kakashi had turned out a lot nicer than you probably could have expected. You hummed to yourself as you sauntered down the path, your mind preoccupied with remembering the night’s events.  
  
“Hey! Hey you!”  
  
You turned around to see Sakura and Ino headed your way. Both of them held to-go boxes much like yours and looked as if they had worn themselves out. You smiled inwardly as they stopped in front of you, trying to catch their breath.  
  
“You - Where -” Ino panted, bending over in pain. “Ugh! Why did I run so much today? I’ve got an awful side ache!”  
  
“Where did …” Sakura picked up, her eyes frantic and hair wild, “Where did you … get that … _flower_?” She jabbed at the air in the direction of the peony you held. For a fraction of a second, Kakashi’s masked face passed through your thoughts and you felt yourself blush all over again. You were thankful it was too dark for them to see it.  
  
“Oh, this thing?” you feigned confusion, proudly holding up the peony in the dark. “It was a gift. From a really nice person. Someone ..." You paused and sighed lightly, almost too giddy to keep your poker face up. "Not very remarkable … I couldn’t even tell you what he looked like.”    
  
“Aw man, really?” Ino cried in defeat. “Well, that’s it! I’m done! I don’t care if there’s one more out there. I’m through with searching - he obviously got rid of them all just to mess with us! Come on Sakura. I’ve gotta get home and I’m sure your parents are wondering where you are, too.”  
  
“Well, thanks anyway,” Sakura sighed, her eyes dropping to the ground. “I hope you enjoy that flower … Whoever gave it to you must’ve really wanted you to have it.”  
  
“Yeah,” Ino cut in. “They’re really nice flowers. Whoever bought them must’ve been thinking about someone truly special.” She turned and grumbled, “ _Or_ had been onto us the whole time!”  
  
You watched the two girls drag themselves home, their silhouettes fading into the shadows. Giving one more twirl of the peony in your hand, you couldn’t help but grin foolishly and practically skip all the way home, your heart feeling as light as the flower you held.


End file.
